Memoirs of a Pokemon Master CHAPTER 9 A battle of electric
proportions

"Welcome back." - Trey LaJaunie

The next morning, pikachu and I walked out of the pokemon
center without waiting for Andrew. We headed for the gym with our
jaws set to win this battle. Soon we stood outside the gym. The
gym was painted in electric blue with large yellow lightning
bolts. There was a bronze plaque on the wall next to the front
doors. It stated the gym's establishment, the gym leader and the
junior trainers. I had never heard of a gym leader having junior
trainers before. I checked the names. Private Volt and Private
First Class Bolt.

"Interesting names. I wonder what kind of pokemon they
use." I said sarcastically.

We entered the gym. It was a fairly large gym. Grandstands on
either side, a large pokemon arena in the center, a high ceiling
lined with spotlights and catwalks, and at the far end sat Lt.
Surge, with two young people in fatigues and large hats that hid
their faces. I could only assume they were Volt and Bolt. Surge
stood up as we entered.

"Good." He said. "You actually came! We thought
you had chickened out."

"I haven't chickened out yet and I'm not about to."
I said. "Let's get this over with."

"Not just yet." He said. "I'm not sure if
you're strong enough to face me."

"That's very considerate of you." I said with no
hint of kindness in my voice.

"Volt! Bolt! Attack!" Surge barked.

Volt got up first. Volt tossed a pokeball and a voltorb
materialized. Pikachu went over to the voltorb.

"Pika!" Pikachu said.

"Voltorb!" The voltorb replied.

"Pi?" Pikachu asked.

Bolt stood and tossed a pokeball. A beedrill materialized. I
recognized this combination. So did pikachu. Pikachu jumped
behind me. Surge looked at me.

"Scared?" He asked.

"When did you take these trainers in?" I asked.

"Just the other day." He said. "Why?"

I knew it would be humiliating but I needed to reveal Volt and
Bolt's true colors. And there was only one way to do that. I
looked Surge dead in the eye.

"I hope you didn't go to too much TROUBLE to get these
guys." I said in a loud voice.

Bolt and Volt looked at each other.

"Trouble!?" They asked.

"I just can't hold it in!" Volt said.

"Neither can I!" Bolt said. "Let's do it!"

Bolt produced a stereo system and hit the play button. Some
sinister music began to play.

"Prepare for trouble!" Volt said as she tore off her
fatigues and revealed a team rocket uniform. It was Lilly!

"And make it double!" Bolt tore off his fatigues and
revealed a team rocket uniform as well. It was Kirby.

"To protect the world from devastation!" Lilly
struck a pose.

"To unite all people within out nation!" Kirby
struck a pose.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Lilly
said.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" Kirby
said.

"Lilly!"

"Kirby!"

Just then, Surge slammed his foot on the stereo, crushing it
and stopping the music. I had to give him one thing and that was
that he could stop team rocket's motto really good.

"You're those pokemon murderers!" He said.

"Yes. We are team rocket." Lilly said.

Surge threw out his raichu. Pikachu stood at my side. Surge's
raichu did a body slam to the volt orb while pikachu made quick
work of the beedrill. Lilly and Kirby called back their pokemon.
Kirby produced a blue bazooka. He pointed it towards the window.
Lilly grabbed hold of the bazooka. Kirby looked at me.

"You may have given us a few bruises but we're back with
a vengeance!" He said.

I reeled back and hit him square in the forehead. A large red
lump formed and he shot the bazooka. A grappling hook, followed
by a rope flew through the window.

"Welcome back." I said.

They flew out the window as the rope started to wind. Both
pikachu and raichu hit them with a thunder shock as they flew.
When they hit the window, the bazooka exploded. They flew through
the air and I heard a familiar cry.

"Looks like team rocket's blasting off again!" They
cried as they flew.

"I can't believe that they were impersonating junior
trainers!" Surge said. "They got this close to
me."

"Put it this way Surge, now you don't have to worry about
them killing your pokemon." I said.

"Why not?" I asked. "Pikachu and I have been
through tougher spots than this." I said. I knew that it was
mostly a lie but I needed the leverage.

"I'll show you the power of an evolved pokemon!" He
said. "Raichu! Use your body slam!"

The raichu jumped up over pikachu.

"Raiiiiichu!" The raichu loomed over pikachu, then
landed flat on it's face. Pikachu had dodged easily. The raichu
tried to swipe at pikachu with it's tail but pikachu dodged that
attack too. Raichu tried for another body slam but got the same
results.

"Pikachu! Thunder shock! Now!" I yelled.

Pikachu charged up and shot a beam of electricity at raichu.
Raichu stumbled backwards but remained standing.

The raichu charged up and shot a big beam of electricity at
pikachu. There was a loud explosion and the room was filled with
dust.

"Yeah! The pikachu is mine!" Surge said.

When the dust cleared a big smile came to my face. Pikachu was
being propped up by his tail. He had used his tail as a ground to
absorb the electricity! An electric field surrounded him. The
raichu's face matched Surge's : complete shock.

"Alright pikachu! You've absorbed a lot of electricity!
Time to let it fly!" I yelled.

Pikachu started running towards the raichu, jumped in the air
and released a very large blast of electricity. It lasted for
awhile. I pulled out Dexter for an explanation.

"Pikachu's attacks. Thunder. The most powerful electric
attack. Only a pikachu can learn this attack. It happens when the
pikachu absorbs at least 60000 volts of electricity." Dexter
said.

The room filled with dust and smoke again. This time when the
dust and smoke cleared, only one pokemon remained standing. It
was pikachu. Pikachu stood on the raichu. The raichu had fainted.
Surge was speechless. It was about this time when Andrew had
finally tracked me down and had entered the gym.

"Did I miss anything good?" He asked.

Once raichu was recovered and Surge was able to talk again, he
handed me the thunder badge. He informed me that he wanted a
rematch. But Andrew had already challenged him and he had other
business to take care of. The rematch would have to wait for
another day. Andrew defeated Surge easily with his geodude. By
then it was late. Nurse Joy told me that the next town was
Lavender. It would be a good 3 week's walk if we went around but
we could get there in one week if we went through the nearby
ranches. Andrew, pikachu and I decided that the best and most
scenic route would be to go through the ranches. After Andrew
went to bed, pikachu and I started plotting out the best route.
We picked a route that went straight through a ranch, but that
route seemed to be the best for catching pokemon. It was midnight
before we went to bed.